EPrints on Cultural Heritage

Globally Unique or Globally Uniform? Is cultural heritage as a driver of development resulting in the unique or the uniform?

Brown, Sharon and Oliver, Alan
(2012)
Globally Unique or Globally Uniform? Is cultural heritage as a driver of development resulting in the unique or the uniform?
In: ICOMOS 17th General Assembly, 2011-11-27 / 2011-12-02, Paris, France.
[Conference or Workshop Item]

Abstract (in English)

Is cultural heritage as a driver of development resulting in the unique or the uniform? This Paper will consider trends towards uniformization in cultural heritage. How does this process affect tourism, cultural identity and diversity – locally and globally? Put simply, there are two main paths which heritage as a driver of development can take. The first path is towards uniqueness so reinforcing a sense of place and identity through protection and enhancement of heritage. The alternative path leads to uniformity – where everywhere around the world looks increasingly the same through the destruction/loss of heritage and its replacement with standardised forms. This Paper will use Northern Ireland’s cultural heritage, with reference to existing and potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites, to illustrate this concept. The ‘Giant’s Causeway’ is Northern Ireland’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Malone and Stranmillis suburb and Historic Urban Landscape was amongst those sites proposed for inclusion on the UK’s 2011 Tentative List of potential World Heritage Sites. The harmonious visual character of the area, with its Victorian and Edwardian villas in their landscaped setting and the rhythm of the streetscapes, is under serious threat, including from increasing uniformization. Focusing on Northern Ireland’s future there is an incredible potential for a world of visitors to have a unique experience – not uniformity and monotony. Emerging from conflict there is a need to reassess the role of heritage as a driver of development in a constructive way. Development must reinforce and re-establish the Province’s unique cultural heritage and identity. This in turn will positively contribute globally. It is critical that cultural heritage drives global uniqueness, not global uniformity.

Department of Culture Media and Sport, Independent Expert Panel Report. March 2011. The UK’s World Heritage Review of the Tentative List of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. London: Department of Culture, Media and Sport.